Published on 7th September 2012
Wall Street has been waiting, waiting, waiting for a new Fed initiative to jack up a sagging economy. Now financial markets will probably get their wish. The modest growth in jobs during August, when the economy added 96,000 workers and the unemployment rate dipped to 8.1%, means the Federal Reserve is likely to launch a new round of quantitative easing — a term for pumping money into the economy by buying government bonds — possibly as soon as next week's meeting of the central bank's policymaking committee. Economists have been predicting more Fed action in September all summer, and a series of leaks before last month's meeting even suggested it might happen sooner. USA Today